Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Earth ❯ Fled, Left, and Captured ( Chapter 3 )

Part 1
~~~
Chapter 3
Fled, Left, and Captured
It was terrible, the devastation that Bulma saw as she and her family thread their way through the countryside. They passed countless farmhouses and cottages that had been burnt to the ground and often left still smoking. There didn't even appear to be any humans left in the towns they travelled though that could hide them or help them. All that they saw spoke of death and destruction... even so the princess knew that there should at least be *some* survivors…

But when evening came, and they had to pass through yet another vacant and charred town, the true extent of the devastation to her country began to set in.

"Where are they?" Bulma asked, huddling deeper into Yamcha's arms as they walked down yet another empty street. Behind her, she heard her mother sniffle slightly and her father whisper something consolingly in reply.

"Well... they were probably rounded up and taken somewhere by the savages," Yamcha replied. "Or maybe they didn't even bother to do that, maybe they just vaporized them all with some sort of magical spell doo-hickie, or maybe..."

She was a little frightened and Yamcha wasn't helping any. "Okay, shut-up." She snapped up at him.

Yamcha did as he was told and she felt him shrug against her. When she glanced up at him she could see that his face was white and strained. She felt a little bit of sympathy for her acting bodyguard, he wasn't trying to frighten her-- he was merely being realistic. She sighed.

"This *is* horrible," She agreed softly, glancing about herself yet again. The thought of the deaths wrought angered her suddenly, and she narrowed her eyes. "Who could do--" "Shh!" Yamcha interrupted her, breaking her out of her tirade before she could even really get started. The tall warrior glanced up at the darkened night sky, then behind them at her parents. "Come on," He whispered apprehensively. He turned sharply, hauling her over to a darkened, doorless hulk of what had once been a building. He motioned for her parents to follow.

"What is it dear?" Her mother whispered at the dark haired warrior once they were all inside.

"Shh..." Yamcha said again, crouching down against the inside wall of the building. They all gathered about him and followed suite. "I thought I heard something," he whispered finally, pale faced.

They sat silently, listening.

Sure enough a couple of moments later they could all hear the soft crunching sound of footsteps. They were coming towards the building where the small band of humans were hidden. A couple of seconds later a faint light appeared out of the darkness in the direction of the footsteps.

Then one of the approaching persons spoke. "'ave you seen anything capt'n?" A thickly accented voice asked.

"Shit..." Yamcha whispered, his eyes wide in the darkness. "Shh!!" Bulma hissed at him. The princess frantically motioned her parents to push back further into the corners of the house. She found herself suddenly wishing that the house still had a door, for what little protection it could offer them... "Naw," Came the reply. "You?"

"Nay, 'neither." The footsteps sounded like they were practically on top of their location. Bulma began whispering a small invisibility charm under her breath, praying that it would work. The crunching of footsteps drew closer and closer, loud in her ears…

Sudden torchlight was thrust inside of the room. Bulma's breath caught in her throat. She stared at the far wall, frozen in place and desperately *willed* herself to be invisible. Apparently her charm or will must have worked because the torchlight was drawn quickly and the thickly accented voice continued as the footsteps retreated. "Now I know the prince said to look everywhere for that 'em royal family and that princess, but I say we ain't gonna find anything in these here towns..." The voice began to fade away in the opposite direction that it had come in.

Bulma was faintly aware of the fact that both Yamcha and her parents were staring at her in the darkness. She flushed darkly.

"I say check the forests capt'n." The voice continued. "They is gonna be hiding there. Or the capital. They is probably still in the capital..."

"The prince said to check everywhere, we check everywhere…" The captain said, an irritable note in his voice.

The reply was murmured so low that Bulma couldn't make it out. And then the voices were gone.

Bulma let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. She turned to glare at the three sets of eyes that she was very aware where focused right on her.

"Prince?" Her mother piped up first, an all to familiar note in her voice.

"Mo-thER." Bulma whispered furiously at her. "He just took over my country and I'm sitting here in DIRT and somehow I DON'T think he's here to play regal courtship--!"

Yamcha clamped his hand over her mouth. "SHH!" He hissed. "Until we know for sure that they are gone for sure..." Bulma's father nodded in agreement.

"Mmph." Bulma retorted indignantly.
~~~

Gohan surfaced nearly instantly, awake again and choking and sputtering to boot. "Ahh!!!!" He screamed once he had gulped down a lungful of air. He desperately splashed about, flailing for a handhold.

After a moment or so Piccolo took pity on the child. "Hruph"ing he waded out into the water and grabbed hold of the child by the back of his now sopping clothing. He then waded back to the shore and plopped the boy down on the ground. The boy blinked up at him in complete and utter confusion. However at least he wasn't attempting to cry or scream or do any of the other normal things children were prone to do after they had discovered that their parents had died.

The pause was long. The child continued to stare at him. "Are quite you finished?" The stoic Namek asked him finally, gruffly, as he refolded his arms across his chest.

The child seemed to consider that for a moment. Then he nodded. "W-w-w..." he began to stutter.

"What." Piccolo snapped.

Gohan flinched. "What are you going to do with me?" He asked timidly.

It was Piccolo's turn to blink. He hadn't consider that really yet. Then he scowled deeply. Great. Here he was in the middle of the mountains with a kid that he didn't even LIKE, whose father he had HATED and damn it, he wasn't a baby-sitter! Just because the kid's father had been dumb enough to stand himself in the way of his blast....

'You know very well that you wouldn't have been able to land that blast if Goku hadn't been there to pin him down.' He thought to himself. He shook his head slightly. That still didn't make him responsible for his child.

'...Oh? And who else is there to take care of him?' Part of his mind seemed insistent on arguing with him. 'Somehow I don't think any of the humans will be in the position to take care of an orphan right now. Especially not an orphaned savage...'

And then he very nearly smacked himself in the forehead for his over sight. Of course!

He didn't have to baby sit him at all. "Nothing." He snapped in response to the child's question. He turned abruptly and began to walk away from the child and towards the forest.

The child stared after him in confusion. "... wait!" He finally called after him. "Where are you going?" He scrambled to his feet. "You can't just LEAVE me here..." He whimpered as Piccolo continued to walk away.

Piccolo stopped and turned his head to the side. "I can," he said shortly. "And I will." The corner of his mouth curved upwards into a semblance of a smile. "You're the child of a savage boy. It's about time you learned how to take care of yourself." With that he leapt into the air.

"B-but I'm SCARED..." Was the last thing he heard the boy wail before he had flown far enough away that he could no longer hear him.

"You'll get over it kid." He muttered to himself.
~~~

The royal family stayed the night in the desolate town, huddled against the side of the house. None of them got any sleep. In early morning hours when the sun was just peaking over the mountains they, or she rather, sent Yamcha out to check to see if the coast was clear.

Within minutes Yamcha was back again and nodded silently, motioning for them to emerge.

Bulma and her parents did so, making sure to be careful and cautious and not make any noise. After a moment the foursome were traveling down the vacant streets again. They made sure to stick to the sides of buildings and the shadows as they went. Soon they were nearing the last house of the town and were only yards away from the cover of forest.

It was then when someone jumped out in front of them.

Bulma screamed. Yamcha screamed as well, and so did her mother. Her father merely blinked.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" Sneered the creature in a thick foreigner's accent.

Bulma gasped. It was the person from the night before, the one that had shined his torch into the room of the house. She could tell from his voice. He must have been waiting for them all night--!

She stared at the creature. He had masses of white-yellow hair that cascaded down his back and orange-red skin. She had never seen the likes of him before and it didn't take much of a leap in logic to assume that he wasn't someone here to help them... She couldn't have been more right. The man stepped forwards, smirking gleefully. "Some fleeting humans methinks!" He opened up his palm casually, beginning to develop a glowing energy ball in his hand. "So…" He sneered. "What shall I do with ye?" He let the energy ball in his hand go. It flew over Bulma's shoulder to land in the dirt only a couple feet away from her. The princess looked startled.

"Now listen here..." Yamcha began.

Bulma interrupted him. "Now you listen up!" She yelled. "I don't know who you think you are but I'll have you know that I am PRINCESS Bulma..."

"Bulma!!" Yamcha shouted at her, horrified. Now they couldn't even pretend to be a few simple passerbys...

Bulma was upset. "Ah shut it, it's better than being dead!" She snapped. She shoved her protesting boyfriend out of the way and strode forwards to stand right in front of the savage, who looked slightly taken aback at being confronted head on by the princess. "You can't very well go around threatening..."

"What do you have there Jeice?" A voice interrupted Bulma mid-rant. Bulma let out a small screech of alarm when as a very tall and large savage with no hair and *horns* sticking out of the side of his head stepped out from behind the same building Jeice had come out from behind.

"Nothin' much capt'n," Jeice said, smirking and placing his hands on his hips. "Beyond one pissed off little princess, if I do say so myself."

Bulma glowered.

"That's great." Said the large savage. He paused for a second, and considered. "Shall we introduce ourselves?" He asked.

Jeice shrugged. "What'er you say Capt'n." He grinned.

The large savage grinned back and proceeded to strike a pose. Yamcha's mouth fell open. So did Bulma's for that matter as the large savage proceeded to strut around in front of them. Not only that Jeice looked like this was nothing new and instead of commenting, he went on to join in and pose with the captain, his hands flailing in all sorts of odd positions. When they were done they both stood in the pose they had selected... hands raised above their heads and one knee raised respectively, and proceeded to hold that pose as they spoke.

"I'm Jeice," said the orange skinned one.

"And I'm captain Ginyu," rumbled the large horned one. "And we're part of the Ginyu force!!" They both said simultaneously.

They grinned.

Bulma and her party stared.

"That's just great." Bulma heard Yamcha mutter under his breath from behind her. "We're in the company of madmen. We're all going to DIE."

Under usual circumstances Bulma would have probably turned around and chewed Yamcha out for being such a pessimist, but this time she tended to agree with him.
~~~

It was later that evening that tentative knock came at the great door that marked the entrance to the princes' rooms. "What?!" Prince Vegeta growled, very deliberately developing a ball of power in the palm of his hand. He was *not* in the mood to be disturbed yet again this evening and he vowed that this time the messenger would die.

"S-sire…" the messenger pushed open the door and came forwards quickly, instantly bowed himself down on the ground at his feet. "I-I have news of the royal family." He stuttered. Vegeta sat up, instantly banishing the power from his hand. He wanted to hear this. "Yes?" He asked eagerly, leaning forward.

The messenger didn't look up. "They have been found by King Frieza's men attempting to flee the country. They have been brought back to the castle and we await your orders sire."

Vegeta smirked. "Where are they being kept?" He asked.

"T-they are being guarded in the guest quarters sire." The messenger continued to stutter, still trembling minutely.

"And the princess?" He continued to press.

"She is with them as well sire." The messenger said.

"Good." Vegeta said, the look in his eyes growing dark. He continued to smirk, his grin crooked and evil. "Have her brought here."

"Yes Sire." The messenger scrambled to his feet only to turn back at the door. "Sire?" He asked.

"What is it?" Vegeta snapped. His smile disappeared. The messenger was pushing his luck.

The messenger must have realized such, because he quite literally shook in his boots. "There is a- a man with the princess who seems to be, ah..." he fumbled for a second. "... involved with her." He finished.

"Is he of any importance?" Vegeta asked.

The messenger shook his head quickly. "No sire. He appears to be a simple bodyguard sir."

Vegeta frowned. "Then have him killed," He said slowly and deliberately. "And then bring her to me." He had no time for insignificant humans who insisted on placing themselves in his way. Being involved with any princesses who he may want for himself was included.

"Yes sire." The messenger said, bowing low before practically running from the room.

Vegeta sat back in his throne, smirk returning to grace his thin lips. At last something was finally going his way… he was pleased.

~~~